Elegy 2.3: Bharg'Yi'nargrast'hra
Bharg Yi'nargrast'hra'' - "The Conquest of Demon's Eye"' Bloodeye and his crew take control of the Demon's Eye facility from the Morgan Pirate Clan. Prologue Scene One :'Grand Hall''' :Rah K'rakh Pirate Base :K'nag Rha System :Five Days Later... "Friends, praises be to Bhar for his providence to us this day, and to Sivar, in whom the chance to restore our honor rests. Gurakh!" The assembled group of Kilrathi pirates roared their response to Ratharin Sa'guk's blessing over the food approvingly. Bloodeye found the whole affair tragically ironic, and joined in merely to avoid the potential of appearing rude and upsetting his host in the process. It is unlikely that many of these kili will die honorably, or that they even remember what it is to be honorable, he thought. It had been five days since Ni'Rakh had arrived at the Rah K'Rakh base in the Knag Rha star system, and Bloodeye was becoming restless. He had spent a fair amount of his time recruiting, which had turned out to be more difficult than he had originally hoped. Nagkilin had been correct in that most of the pirates at K'nag Rha had not been of the reputable sort, and Bloodeye had initially tried to avoid even opening a dialogue with those that seemed to be intoxicated or who carried the smell of those who dallied with females out of season. He realized after the first day - when he had only found about two-eights that met his criteria and only a third of those were willing to join his cause - that he couldn't afford to be that choosy. Reluctantly, he lowered his standard and set himself to the task of finding the best possible crew out of whoever was available. Of the close to 18,000 Kilrathi living at Rah K'rakh, a mere seven eight-of-eights had joined him. It was a group large enough to man Ni'Rakh, but only at about 2/3 of the normal crew compliment for a Fralthi-II-class cruiser. At least they hadn't had problems with refueling and repairing the ship. After he came aboard, Ratharin had gone straight to Ni'Rakh's hold, he and Nagkilin welcoming each other loudly and with a great deal of swearing. Ratharin had been impressed with Gartha'in Sihkag's rux'fra stash, though he and Lord Kor had gotten into a rather heated series of negotiations when the latter took insult at the former's initial offer for the entire pile. It turned out that their thrak'hra Lord was a reasonably skilled negotiator, and he wound up getting the group a much better deal. The pirate had been more interested in Ni'Rakh's cargo of outdated armaments, offering free use of the station's repair facilities and the contents of a tanker that had been brought in that morning in exchange for it, which Bloodeye had accepted without haggling - it was a good enough deal for him. They had wound up using some of the monies from the sale of the rux'fra to buy back some of the armaments they had brought in as it turned out, and even then there was little chance that Ni'Rakh would ultimately be brought up to spec. Still, he was in much better shape than he had been when they had taken him from the yard. Later that first evening, Ratharin had offered what Bloodeye had at the time assumed was one of his concubines for the evening as was traditional and he had declined to mate with her when he realized she was out of season, despite the willingness of the female. In conversing with the female, he was shocked to learn that she was Ratharin's lair-mate and - as Nagkilin had intimated - a whore. many of the kili at K'nag Rha were not very interested in helping to restore the honor of the fallen Kilrathi people (Topics here - Fair number of whores aboard station, including - as mentioned - Ratharin's lair-mate, which utterly baffles Bloodeye. Mention Demon's Eye here - Bloodeye had also learned a bit about some of the other pirate bases in the Sector - not much as far as detail, just where they were and such, otherwise the conversation in the fourth scene makes no sense). Arrah Sutaghi has suggested that Bloodeye discuss whether or not they could use Rah K'Rakh as a home base - he's attempted to bring it up several times but has been interrupted each time. Beginning to think that Nagkilin suggested the place so that he could get plastered every night... They had dined with their host every evening since their arrival along with a small host of Ratharin's business associates, usually those who had conducted business with him on that particular day. It had been a long time since Bloodeye had eaten anything that hadn't been preserved first and he had been grateful for fresh meat, though Ratharin's tastes were somewhat questionable. For example, that evening's fare was roast Firekkan spiced with uqimer; while he was no culunary expert, Bloodeye felt that uqimer was best served with raw meat, particularly raw Wu shank. Pairing it with roasted Firekkan was just...wrong, somehow. And yet he didn't complain about it - it was still better than rux'fra, and well-prepared nonetheless. That evening (Bloodeye gets up after eating and wanders a bit in thought. He ultimately finds himself in his host's war hall; Ratharin Sa'guk has a number of impressive trophies in the small room. Bloodeye's gaze fixes on a remarkable specimen of the crest of clan Sutaghi, and he wonders what it is doing there). "Impressive, isn't it?" Bloodeye had been startled, instinctively drawing his blade and turning towards the source of the unexpected voice, his tail flaring. It was a moment before he registered the presence of his host, who was leaning languidly on the interior doorframe of his war hall, arms crossed. "I was told it was made from the native obsidian of Mount Orkji, inlaid with palladium," Ratharin continued with amusement in his voice. He returned his koractu to its sheath, ears flushing momentarily in embarrassment both at his reaction and at the fact that he had been taken by surprise, something that didn't happen very often. "It's a most beautiful specimen," he opined. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you come to possess it?" RS: "It was given to me by my clan Lord when he assigned me to administer this base. I suspect he did it to soften the blow - the last thing I really wanted was to wind up on some forsaken mining base in the middle of nowhere. I remember the day I received this, Lord Thavidaqut had the gall to challenge... (Bloodeye says nothing as Ratharin's voice trails off.) RS: "You know, you have been among us for five days now, and ever since you've come aboard I've had this nagging feeling that I had met you somewhere before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But seeing you in here, looking at that crest and remembering what happened the day I received it has finally jogged my memory. I remember you now, Krahtagh hrai Talmak nar Sutaghi." B: (sighs) "It has been a very long time since anyone referred to me by that name..." RS: "I believe that, just as it has been a long time since I was known as Lord Ratharin lak Shuqitha." B: I remember many of the Lords of my clan from my days of service with Lord Talmak; I apologize, but I must admit that I do not remember you. RS: Nor should you. I was one of several minor Lords of the clan being "honored" for service to the Empire that day, the day that Lord Thavidaqut issued his challenge to Lord Talmak. B: I remember the incident itself well. Daily, in fact. RS: Yes. On those days when I'm feeling particularly morose about my life, about how Lord Thavidaqut didn't take my ill-advised attempt to carve out an Empire for myself after the War ended very well and declared me sa'guk, I think back to the day when he was squarely knocked on his ass by one of Talmak's retainers, and I laugh at how cruel life is. Then I go and find a good bottle of whatever I can find and a pretty harlot to share it with, and enjoy the freedoms that come with not having to worry about maintaining my honor. (Bloodeye knows exactly how he feels about this, hoping he never gets to that point.) RS: Well, we could sit here and discuss the old days or exchange some definitely un-Kilrathi philosophical views until our fur fell out, but there is a matter of more pressing concern - Nagkilin told me a boldfaced lie when he said you were a member of the Thieves Guild. B: What makes you certain of that? RS: Oh, I think the hospitality I've shown to you and your group warrants that you should at least try not to think of me as a total buffoon. Lord Talmak was an honorable kil. Any who served him would therefore be honorable. Of course, they should be dead, but assuming they aren't just for the sake of argument, they'd still be too honorable to put their lot in with Terran thieves. Do you deny this? B: I should, but I can't. You are correct - I am no member of the Thieves Guild. The question becomes what you intend to do, now that you know the truth. RS: Yes, that would be an issue. The by-laws of the Guild are pretty specific about what is to happen to those found to be lying when they say they're Guild members. Of course, those by-laws were written by Terrans, and they don't rule here - I do. And am I correct in assuming that Nagkilin didn't mention any of the horrific penalties involved when he first suggested this scheme to you? B: No, and in retrospect I probably should've asked. RS: So, I will do nothing. Only you, I and Nagkilin need know the truth. B: Why would you do this? RS: I don't really know. Maybe it's because I think you honorable, maybe it's because I'm just a nice guy at heart, maybe it's because I'm half-drunk at the moment and don't feel up for trying to kill someone who knows how to use a blade quite like you do. Or maybe it's because I was preparing to kick you off my station anyway...keeping something like the presence of a Kilrathi cruiser a secret for very long just isn't going to happen. Sooner or later, the Border Worlders are going to come after you lot and when they do I'd prefer that my station not go down with you. You've outstayed your welcome, see? B: I see. We had hoped to be able to use your base as a home port for our operations. RS: That was never going to happen, even before this delightful conversation we're having commenced. The Border Worlds militia already has enough excuses to come shoot me down as it is - imagine what would happen if I were to start keeping a Kilrathi cruiser parked nearby. Plus your presence has taxed the resources available to me pretty heavily. (Bloodeye says nothing). RS: Listen, I don't want you to take this personally or think I'm kicking you out permanently. You and your associates are welcome to come here when you are in need of supplies or when you need to contact the Guild, or if you want to try to do business. That rux'fra load will make a handsome profit on the right market. It's just that, despite the fact they're the scum of the universe, I've got half an eight eight-of-eights eight-of-eights Kilrathi living here and they're my responsibility... B: You need not explain the situation to me, Ratharin. May we stay the evening at least, and depart tomorrow morning? RS: That will be fine. You'll need time to take on supplies and for some of your crew to sober up, no doubt. B: True. I have a fair amount of work to do, it seems. Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. RS: It was a pleasure, Bloodeye. Now, get the hell of my station... (Bloodeye departs without another word, miffed.) Scene Two :Portside Stairwell :Tenth-Level, Amidships :'''SS ''Ni'Rakh :Rah K'rakh, K'nag Rha System (So, Bloodeye is miffed from his encounter with Ratharin, and not in the best of moods as it is. He's on his way to talk to Arrah Sutaghi, who is in the Shintahr's Office aboard Ni'Rakh, to report on Ratharin's mandate that they leave the station the following morning. He as yet has no idea where they will go from there, if the ship's been repaired nor if they are ready to commence their mission) QL: "You will not succeed, you know." (Qithrak'lerx has a "sultry" voice; Bloodeye realizes its her that has spoken and inwardly groans at how cliche the notion of the sultry priestess is - something right out of "Nisdu'akutga and Ni'lavinga'Sivar" and such drivel) B: "In all the time you have been aboard, you have not spoken to me. To my knowledge, you have spoken with no-one." QL: "Yet I choose to speak now, Krahtagh N'Ryllis - Bloodeye, as you have chosen to call yourself. And I tell you that you will not succeed." B: (trying hard to remain respectful) "To what do you refer, Daughter of Sivar?" QL: "I have heard you speak of your mission to serve and restore the honor to the Kilrathi people. I say to you now that in this you will not succeed." B (annoyed): "And why do you feel this way?" QL: "It is written that when the Great Warrior, the one who has the heart of a Kilrathi but is not Kilrathi-born, comes to deliver justice to the wicked and rains cleansing fire down upon us, that it is the beginning of the time of the Kn'Thrak. Your mission is foolhardy, Bloodeye N'Ryllis, because we live in that time, and the honor of the Kilrathi people can no longer be redeemed." B: "If this is how you feel, why bother putting your lot with us at all? Why are you here with us now?" QL: "A defeated people will not listen to a message of doom, and I cannot in good conscience deliver to them a message of hope. I had done all the more good I could do at T'kon H'hra, which was why I when Uzik Qarg came to say his farewells and asked if I wanted to come with him, I said yes. And before you ask, I intend to stay with your group for now. My message would fall on equally deaf ears here, among those for whom the honor and sanctity of the Cloak means nothing, where the presence of my very body would deafen these kili as surely as if I were to rip their ears away with my bare claws. But even if Kn'thrak wasn't upon us, you still wouldn't succeed. You say you wish to help the Kilrathi people. There is something that you will need to do that, something you lack. You lack the Kilrathi people themselves. B: What do you mean? QL: I mean that it's well and good to steal from those who have and give it to they that have not. But what does that accomplish in the long run? The food you give them will be eaten, and they will hunger again. If you give them shelter, it will eventually decay or their families will grow, and they will be in need of shelter again. If you give them clothing, it will wear out, and they will once again wear rags. If you give them money, they will spend it, and their poverty will continue once again. If you send them a privy, it will ultimately break down, and the land they live on will once again be polluted and unclean. And when you are caught and executed, who will rise up to take your place? You must do more than simply give the people things - you must teach them the value of honor once again, to be able to do these things themselves and not grow reliant on what you design to share with them. And you absolutely must restore their hope, without which the other two tasks are all the more impossible. B: I see. And how would you suggest I go about doing that? QL: I offer no solutions, Bloodeye N'Ryllis, nor will I ever do so, since I find your mission foolhardy. I merely point out the problem. If Sivar wills you to find a solution, he will make it apparent to you. B (angry and at the end of his patience, but knowing better than to lash out at a Sivaran priestess): Forgive my disrespect, honored Daughter of Sivar, but to come to another kil, point out a problem and not offer a solution is not kind - indeed, it is the height of cowardice. QL (a beat, as if he had physically struck her across the face): You speak the language of diplomacy well, Bloodeye N'Ryllis. It takes practice to call someone a coward without directly offering challenge in the process. B: Lord Talmak taught me well. And he also taught me that when my patience with those who teach Sivar's word has reached its limits that I should bow, say "I have heard your words, and I will consider them with diligence," and then walk away. (Does just that.) QL (calls out, herself more than a bit riled at this point): Start with a home for them, Bloodeye N'Ryllis. It is far easier to teach they who hide under your own roof than those who live in the open in a distant city. (Bloodeye is really cheesed at this point - too upset to talk to Arrah Sutaghi right then, so turns to go to the bar instead, where we find him in the next scene...). Scene Three (Okay - so Bloodeye is cheesed about his conversations with Ratharin and Qithrak'oth at this point. I could start with the part where he feels someone reaching for his sword, slices their hand off and then slaps them across the face with it after pointing out the way to the infirmary and handing it to them. It makes him feel a little better, but still contemplative. He's cleaning his blade when the scene unfolds - just short of eight eight-of-eights non-Kilrathi on the station. He sees the Morgan come into the bar; say something about how he's gotten practice learning about the different Terran pirate clans and could tell he was a Morgan - didn't look completely poor like a Scavenge, wasn't female like a Jezebel, didn't look tough enough to be a member of one of the clans that frequented K'nar Rha regularly. Bloodeye doesn't pay him much attention, at first anyways). Morgan: "Get me a stout, Cat. Something Terran." (loud bastard) Barkeeper: "Rough day?" M: "Rough goddamn week, thanks not a fuck for asking." (sees Bloodeye) "Make it two." (gets his beer, then walks over to Bloodeye). "You, Cat." B: "Who, me?" M: "Yeah you, stupid. Get your flea-ridden ass over here and drink with me." B: (flashes the blood still on the koractu) "What gives you the impression I'm in the mood to do any such thing?" M: "Who says I thought you were in the mood to do anything? I'' feel like drinking, ''I'm drinking in honor of fallen comrades, I'' don't feel like doing it alone, and ''I have had lifting a pint with a Cat on my bucket list for quite some time. You don't factor into the matter at all." B: (giving up) "I suppose that's fair reasoning. Since you drink for fallen comrades, I will join you." M: "Good. Good." (puts his mug up). "Cheers." (Bloodeye drinks rather reluctantly, and then reflects on how Terran liquor tastes like piss) B: "So, to whom are we drinking, specifically?" M: "My mates, flea-bag. Best damn pilots I've ever flown with. Damn shame they didn't measure up to a bunch of butt-fucking Landreichers." (Bloodeye judges that the "mates" in question must have been fairly mediocre based on the appearance - and smell - of his nascent drinking companion. He doesn't want to get drawn into a conversation, really, but can't resist...) B: "Landreichers, eh?" M: "That's what I said, stupid. The boss at Demon's Eye got wind about this big shipment of Phrelox the Landreich government had bought from BlackFire Flock so they could burn it and get it off the market. You ever try Phrelox, Cat? I have, and let me tell you it's some weird shit, definitely not my cup of tea. Me, I prefer Aphrodyte - or rather, I prefer slipping some of that stuff into some bitch's drink. Party time right there, I tell you. (Bloodeye thinks that's probably the only way this asshole ever gets laid. Aphrodyte = powerful psychedelic that overstimulates sex drive; users have the overwhelming urge to mate, tends to lead to rapes. He's heard of Phrelox - a Firekkan telepathic entactogen, lets you read minds and feel empathy/sympathy for those around you - probably has some nasty side effect). M: Anyway, boss says drugs are drugs - what we don't use we can sell, so he tells everybody to saddle up their shit and off we go to Corsair. Have to stay out of sight of BlackFire, of course. So, we start picking up a disturbance in the jump point. Our guys move into position expecting a bunch of transports guarded by a few old Gilgamesh-class destroyers, nothing our T-bolt pilots haven't fucked up a thousand times before. (pauses to take a big swig) Boss hadn't heard about the other bit - that some of the transports were carrying biotek weapons, not drugs. Damn Landreichers had sent Mjolnir her own self to guard the convoy and they launched an entire fucking fighter factory at us. Next thing we knew the frigate we'd piggybacked on was toasted and we were in the middle of a goddamn furball. My mates went down - boom, boom, boom. My own self, I was able to beat it to the jump point and got the hell out of Dodge, smack into the rest of the damn convoy. Wound up having to eject; just got picked up by some mates not too long ago and they brought me here since they were headed this way. Why the fuck they couldn't dump me off at Demon's Eye first I don't know - now I'm gonna have to figure out how I'm gonna pay to get back there. (swigs) (Bloodeye reflects on how idiotic it is for someone in this asshole's position to be buying drinks instead of buying fare). M: Bet the boss was some kinda pissed - he completely shot his wad on this whole deal. Almost every pilot, techie and fighter on the base was sent on this deal; I can tell you right now that most of all that went right into the shitter... (Bloodeye's ears perk up) M: "Hardly anybody left on the base right now. The boss - of course - our groupies, a few techies and maybe the guys who were out on patrol when the rest of us headed out. Fuck...I'd bet a toddler with a toy pistol could probably go in there and make all those drunken bastards piss themselves...hey, where the fuck do you think you're going, you Cat bastard!!" But Bloodeye was already out the door. Scene Four Basically, Bloodeye informs the group about what he learned about Demon's Eye, and the decision is made to infiltrate the base prior to taking any further action. This is the "briefing" portion of the story. I wanted to introduce Naj'bakdor here, IIRC. Not introduced in story until mission three - something about it being a "long story" how he came to join the group (which covers both possible outcomes of his introduction in Mission 1.) I need to get Qith'rakoth his epithet. At this point he'd be the only one without one. I'll probably want to say why people are staying on with Bloodeye at this point. Dya'a'ji's notes are below. I may need to come up with some more explanations for other members of the crew at this point. Any such explanations are likely in their character profiles, but this can be where I add that data to the story. Dya'a'ji Notes: #At K'nag Rha, finds out his clan lord is dead and that he's the only member of his blade school still alive - there's no record of him. Has nowhere else to go, so stays with Bloodeye. #Will be involved with a plot against new clan lord later on. Newbie probably arranged for old one's assassination. Might've worked with the Qarg, even. *I had this saying "liege lord", but it occurred to me that if his liege lord had died, he would've probably committed zu'kara to preserve his honor. The death of a "clan lord" wouldn't have as much of an immediate impact. It's likely that his liege lord is also dead, assuming Sihkag has such a system in place, and if they do then I'll have to come up with something. Might be a reason they're considered a lesser clan or some such. --- Bloodeye gestured to the hologram of the Kilrathi Mining Base floating towards the forward end of the Conference Arena's holo tank. "What do we know about the Demon's Eye pirate base?" The hologram of K'Chodyapaki, which was one of several holograms of the bridge crew being projected out of the aft end of the tank, pressed some buttons to call up the data on the ship's computer. "Nothing recent," the helmsman reported. "According to the records in the ship's computer, it's a standard class-three asteroid mining base originally named 'Dyahoth'; the asteroid on which it is based is about nine eight-of-eights maki in length and it turned out to be anything but abundant. The outpost was originally established as a forward mining base about twenty years ago and it only operated for about three years before it was tapped out and abandoned. The records show that the last base administrator did set the self-destruct to go off before he left the station; it obviously didn't go off and no one knows why." Gux'a P'nt clutched his hand in understanding and Bloodeye noted that he made this gestured instead of nodding his head, no doubt a side-effect of him spending the past several days around more Kilrathi. "I've attended a few staff briefings over the last few years that included some mention of it," he said. "In short, it was left unoccupied until the Morgan's Raiders, a Terran pirate clan, moved in about ten years ago and they've been running it ever since. Officially, it's named 'Oskipnir'. The name 'Demon's Eye' is the base's nickname, given to it by Terran merchants that have to travel through T'rel Pakh since it's in the center of the Sector on most Akwende Projections and a run-in with the Morgans in the system is almost inevitable. Why the interest in this particular base, Bloodeye?" "A short time ago, I heard a rumor that the Morgans living there lost most of their number attempting to assault a Landreich convoy. If it's true, the base would be mostly unoccupied at this point. With our replenished numbers, taking it to use as a base for ourselves may be possible." Both of Gux'a P'nt's ears flicked. "I thought we had discussed trying to convince Ratharin Sa'Guk to allow us to establish a base of operations here at Rah K'Rakh," he said with surprise evident in his voice." "We did," Bloodeye confirmed. "Ratharin said 'no' when I spoke to him about it, and he said it in terms that made it clear his mind was firmly set on the matter. We can come here for trade and to contact the Thieves Guild when we wish, but we will have to find another home port. He is also expecting us to depart tomorrow morning; staying here is no longer an option." The ship's commander bared his teeth in annoyance. "Oh? When did that happen, and when were you planning on telling me about it?" "Recently, and I was coming to tell you about it when I heard about the rumor we're discussing." "I have learned not to put a great deal of faith in heresay, Bloodeye," Lord Kor - who was now calling himself "Silent Ripper" - snarled from the upper tier of the Conference Arena. "Where did you hear this rumor?" Bloodeye's ears flushed slightly. "I heard it from a drunken Terran," he said slowly, "and I'll readily admit that that singular fact greatly limits the amount of faith we can put in it. The possibility of it being true is difficult to ignore, however." "Pirate rumors often have a basis in fact, especially if the teller is drunk," said Nagkilin from the lower tier, his demeanor and tone conveying a keen interest in the topic. "'A drunken hunter is oft killed by his prey', as the saying goes. May I humbly suggest we perform a reconnoiter?" - this last word was badly slurred and Bloodeye just barely understood it. "Get Ni'Rakh hidden away somewhere in T'rel Pakh - say the system's asteroid belt - and then launch a Naktarg with a group of us heading to the base posing as a small Kilrathi pirate group wanting to do some trading...say, offering small armaments or drugs or something; Morgans are hoarders. They'll take just about anything, especially if they can eat it or fuck it, or both at the same time. The group could take the opportunity to scope out the place while we're there and if the rumor is true, we mow them over. If the place is crawling with Terrans, we leave - no harm, no foul. No base, either, but that is the way it is." "This seems like a reasonable suggestion," said Gux'a P'nt with clenched fist. "Discussion?" M: "Do we truly need a home base? Surely it would be better for us to remain mobile, so we can stay one step ahead of our enemies." BD: "Any starship, no matter how well-maintained it is and how professional their engineering and mechanical crews are, occasionally has to have preventative maintenance and inspections performed on it. It's not a matter of if it will need it, it's a matter of when. This ship already could use an overhaul of the main reactor and some of the equipment in the flight bay. The equipment you need in order to do the kind of work involved can only be found at a space station - it's too large and specialized for us to carry around on our own. So yes, I would say that we need a home base on that basis alone." B: "I have another reason. I have been told recently by one of our number that we can't restore the honor of the Kilrathi people if we don't have the Kilrathi people with us. I promised the one who told me this that I would consider their words, I have done so, and I've found them to be true enough. They suggested that the first step towards restoring their honor was to have a home for them. This base could do that." KK: "I understand the simple practicality of our engineer's point-of-view, but do we really want to put Kilrathi women and children aboard a base that may very well be an unexploded bomb? And if we do, how many do you intend to support? Unless I'm mistaken this type of base can only house a few hundred Kilrathi at most." B: "I've had a thought about that - but you're right in that we should solve the mystery of why the self-destruct failed first. May I suggest that if we do find the base ripe for the taking, and if we do succeed in securing it for ourselves, we then turn our attention to that goal - we could send one or two technicians over to examine the system. We'll only spend our energy trying to make a home there if it's safe. Agreed?" KK: "It does seem as if there are a lot of 'ifs' in this plan that must be addressed before we concern ourselves with the base's potential population. I therefore am willing to forego further discussion on that topic for the time being." GP: "Any further discussion? Are we in agreement of the need for a home base, and does anyone object to Shintahr Nagkilin's suggested plan?" (none) GP: "It seems that once again we are following the advice of our resident expert. Very well - we'll gather the crew aboard, send word to Ratharin of our departure and make our course to T'rel Pakh. I wonder if Ratharin could cover our departure from the system; I imagine that the Broken Claw have gathered forces laying in wait for us in Kabla Meth." N: "I'll ask. The worst he could do is say no. I can also see what I can do about procuring things the Morgans may want in trade." B: "Perhaps it would be best if I made the arrangements with Ratharin, Shintahr Nagkilin. I will explain later in a less public forum - let's just say that your counsel has proven sound to this point and I would very much like to be able continue to hear it in the future." GP: "So, who do we send on the reconnoiter?" D: "I would like to go, if you will have me along." "You, Master Gartha'in Sihkag? We have delivered you to K'nag Rha as per our business arrangement; you have no further obligation to our group." D: "Well, with your permission, I'd like to join the group. I have no true desire to remain here, and I've already grown accustomed to all of you. Plus, it so happens that I have a certain degree of expertise in the kind of work you're discussing. You could send me along as a trial run, if you wish." B: "This is liable to be a dangerous mission, and if you get caught we will likely have to leave you behind. You are certain you want to do this, Gartha'in Sihkag?" D: "I am, and you may call me Dya'a'ji." GP: "Very well, Dya'a'ji. If you wish to join the mission, you may do so. We'll also need someone to pilot the shuttle - Naj'bakdor, I realize it's not a fighter, but at least it's Kilrathi built." NB: "That's all you really needed to say." N: "I'd also suggest sending myself and Lord fancy-pants. He speaks business and I speak pirate - it'll help our cover story." KK: "As much as it disgusts me to say it, I agree. I will go, and I promise I will do my utmost to suppress my overwhelming desire to kill Nagkilin. For now." GP: "See that you do not kill him slowly, Lord Kor. Who else?" "That's probably all the more we want to send on the reconnoiter. The smaller our group, the less likely it is that we'll be caught scoping out the place." GP: "Alright. We have a few hours before we depart, so if anyone can come up with a reason why anyone else should go or if they have any other suggestions or addendums to the plan, contact me and we can discuss it further. In the meantime, we've got a lot to get accomplished, so let's go forth and get it done. If Sivar continues to favor us, by the end of the day tomorrow we might have a new place to call home." (everyone leaves. Qithrak'lerx catches Bloodeye down the hall.) QL: "I am glad to see that you were not being patronizing when we ended our last consideration, Bloodeye N'Ryllis." B: "You'll find me to be an honest kil most of the time. Know that I will always listen and consider what you have to say, daughter of Sivar, though I undoubtedly will not always agree with it. Like the part about our cause being foolhardy..." QL: "Honesty begets honesty - I do think your mission foolhardy, but I will not stop you from attempting it. Nor do I suspect you would allow me to do so. B: "You are correct." QL: "Then I will say no more of the matter, other than to say that I have been known to be wrong in the past, and to wish you the favor of Sivar." B: "On all of us, daughter of Sivar." QL: "Perhaps." ---- *B: Bloodeye - Bloodeye is the leader and planner. *GP: Gux'a P'nt/XO (Arrah Sutaghi) - is elected ship's captain and group's exec. *T: Thrakyaga/Quartermaster (Uzik Qarg) - Thrakyaga is there for muscle. *KN: Knav'qith/Ship's Pilot (Knav'qith dai Knavska), the "catborg" is a skilled fighter and capital ship pilot. Acting FNO. *KK: Ku'a K'le/Negotiator (Kor laq Stra'a) - there at Gux'a P'nt's invitation; he's a skilled stalker, which is of precious little use on a capital ship. Acting CSciO. Negotiator, and highest-ranked socially of any Kilrathi in the group. *KC: K'chodyapaki/Navigator ("Kal" Dakut'he Ki'ra) - a humble Cat wanting to get his kids back. Acting CNO. *BD: B'de/Engineer (Oth nar Qith'rakar) - a very talented mechanic, having served on ships of the Hakaga-class during his career. Acting CEO. *N: Nagkilin/Pirate (Eldorin Kur'u'tak) - the resident expert, a Cat who has been a pirate his entire life. *L: Le'a'he/Warrior Bard (Hakiratakav Dairasakdu) - an experienced fighter, secretly an utak. Acting CCO. *I: Irgu/Machinist (Yuharga ko Da'a Vimaksrani) - on board Ni'rakh when the group arrives to steal the ship, joins up to save his skin (he's being hunted) but quickly proves his worth. Ultimately becomes group's chief tech. Libertine. *D: Dya'a'ji/Infiltrator (Gartha'in Sihkag) - shows up to help the group dispatch a group of Terrans guards while they're trying to steal the ship, asks to join the group with an offer of food. A ninja. *M: Mo/Doctor (Sa'ki lak B'yaga) - Ku'a K'le's lair-mate, aboard shuttle, asked to join group, agrees on condition that Bloodeye train her son, become's group's CMO. Scathing. *QO: Qith'rakoth/Scholar (Garmasdrish lak B'yaga) - Ku'a K'le's son, aboard shuttle, begins training with Bloodeye. *QL: Qith'raklerx/Priest (Mer B'a jaq Shintahr) - aboard shuttle, friend of Thrakyaga, a priestess of Sivar ultimately convinces Bloodeye to try to build a new society for Kilrathi people. Delusional. *NB: Naj'bakdor/Top Gun (Sivar'havuz Ki'ra) - the pilot, saves the ship by turning on his wingmen as it's leaving T'kon H'hra. *''J: Najekh/Scout (Oth ko Sal) - captive aboard Demon's Eye base, plots revenge against ko Thrakhaxal for it. Violent. Not with the group yet.'' *''BH: B'Harg/Red Shirt (Yurakh'hra Sa'guk) - generic character there for extra muscle. Disposable. Varying personality as situation requires. Not with the group yet.'' Mission Details Encounter One Okay... let's plot this: :HOOK - Bloodeye and his crew take control of the Demon's Eye facility from the Morgan Pirate Clan. :Entrance / Guardian *''Depart K'nag Rha and head to Vigrid:'' There's room for at least one encounter here. **Go to Vigrid **Escape -or- Destroy something. Going to go with a patrol, methinks. *''Negotiate entry into the base:'' :Puzzle / Roleplaying Challenge :Red Herring :Climax - this needs to be Ni'Rakh's glorious entrance, with the infiltration team fulfilling their mission to eliminate the base's defenses. I want a space battle here. :Plot Twist - I might reserve this one for the epilogue in this case, when we release Najekh from the brig. Going to have to figure out how to keep his ass alive...maybe the infiltration team will release some kind of intruder control gas. It's a Kilrathi base originally, so any such gas is liable to be lethal. Perhaps the terrans replaced it at some point but that doesn't explain the failed self-destruct unless they realized what would happen if they attempted to fix it. Why wouldn't they have purged the computer core in the first place, like in False Actions? Because for that to happen, you would need the command codes. How could they operate the base at all then? :Capture, Defeat, Defend, Discover, Destroy, Escort, Escape, Find, Intercept, Negotiate, Obtain, Patrol, Rescue, and Survive. :(Who, What, When, Where, Why and hoW) ---- Oskopnir (Demon's Eye) was originally a Kilrathi mining base. Demon's Eye needs to be at least SC26. Sha'kar's at 330,000 m^3. Dorkit at 200,000 m^3. Needs to be able to service 12 Dorkathis at once. Largely the same setup as a Terran base - pressure dome atop the blockhouse, connected by surface support and ventilation tubes. All connect to the central processor in the main station. Breast stoping techniques would be logical due to the low gravity conditions; the processor would have gravity after a point but the mines themselves wouldn't. Cat stopes are 5-6 okmaki (just over 50 meters); could support ten levels given estimated size of the rock. Possible room and pillar subsurface mining. Economically viable rocks (200 billion Credits est.) are 800/2000 meters in dimension, 16-40 stope levels possible. Terrans probably begin shafts close to lodes with multiple shafts possible. Cats would probably drill a single shaft off the central ore processor to save themselves from the need and stope out to a lode. Potential Locations (battle maps): Concourse. Operations. Dormitories. Recreation Room. Ore Processor. Power Plant. Corridor. Landing Bay. Cargo Bay. Auxiliary Control. Computer Core. Infirmary. Bar. Commo Exchange. I never have come up with the original name of the Demon's Eye Base. It was 'Oskopnir' under the Morgans; Demon's Eye was its nickname. Let's go with 'Dyahoth' = 'Abundant Rock'. '' 5,271,915.52 m^3 minimum for hangar bay; need to be prepared to move some of that space back. Pixel measurements: *365 length/364 draught. - length 60x153px upper dorms, 57x110px lower dorms, 177x100px concourse, 34x13px main wince, 56x112px ore processor, 73x37px landing bay *398 draught / 307 beam. - beam 63px upper dormitory tower, 62px mid-decks, 59px lower dormitory tower, 68px main docking bay. 54px concourse levels. *224 beam / 354 length - beam 61px ore processor, 79px dormitories, 53px concourse, 53px main docking bay. 27px main wince. **rough measurements are 689.136 meters in length by 691.029 meters in draught by 483.817 meters in beam, including asteroid's bulk. **conversion factors: LD=1.887671 m/px, DB 1.736181 m/px, LB 1.946712 m/px. Beam error is approx 50 meters along both axes. ***LD: Upper dorms 113.266x288.828; lower dorms 107.603x207.654; concourse 334.135x188.778; main wince 64.187x24.541; ore processor 105.715x211.430; landing bay 137.807x69.847. ***DB: upper dorm 109.379; mid-deck 107.643; lower dorm 102.435; main docking bay 118.060; concourse 93.754 ***LB: ore processor 118.749; dormitories 153.790; concourse 103.176; main docking bay 103.176; main wince 52.561 Aside from the main wince and docking bay, it would make sense for the base to be a uniform beam based on the model. Average beam is 112.7 meters / 46.9 demaki. Could say 48 demaki (six-eights), or 115.2 meters. Same width for the docking bay. For the main wince, go with three-eights demaki (57.6 meters) Dorms on Ni'Rakh are eight hutari in area (each hutari is 2.49 square meters, so 19.92 square meters). These are supposed to be Staterooms. Deck height is about five meters then, say two demaki (4.8 meters). The height of the upper dormitories is two-eight-eights demaki (307.2 m), length is also six-eights demaki (115.2 m), beam is six-eights demaki (115.2 m). Need to see where that gets me when I carve it up. Deck level is two demaki, so 64 levels. The Staterooms would also be eight hutari (19.92 square meters) in area, while each suite would be four times as large - 32 (four-eights) hutari, or 79.68 square meters - and would probably comprise several rooms. Concourse stalls: *Wall kiosk 0.5 hutari (1 hutari ~ 2.49 square meters = 17.928 m^3, assuming 3dk (7.2 m) storey size, or 11.952 m^3 with 2dk (4.8 m) storey size. I went with the latter aboard Ni'Rakh because it's a ship, but the Kilrathi aboard would find the ceilings a tad close) *Small kiosk 1 hutari *Retail kiosk 4 hutari *Large Retail kiosk 8 hutari *Small/starting business - 24 hutari *Small store - 40 hutari *Medium store - 128 hutari *Large store - 256 hutari *Wholesaler (Sam's Club) - 4,854 hutari - equivalent is 87,022.512 m^3 (high end SC 14) **All stores need to be no narrower than 5 dk (12 m) wide **Concourse dimensions are 144 dk long by 48 dk wide by 40 dk deep. At 3 dk per level, that gives thirteen levels. I might bump that to 5 dk and eight levels for a more "airy" feel. Might be important on a base like this. Might also play into cat psychology... *5,808,000 m^3 hangar. 115.2 m^3 across beam => 50416 2/3 m^2 LxD. Landing bay is 9,625.405 m^2 LxD, equals 603.403m across the beam. Beam width of the asteroid based on the image is 224px (LB) -> 436.063 m; leaves this area short. Needs 1,610,717 m^3 volume in main docking bay area. **Best Kilrathi equivalents are 56 dk x 28 dk => 9031.68 m^2, for volume of 3,938,381.475 m^3, leaving 1,869,618.5 m^3 **At 115.2 m^3 across beam and 345.6 length, draught is 40.457 meters. 46px LD -> 86.63 m. Say 36dk (86.4 m) ***Obvious solution then - main docking bay is NOT 345.6 in length, but 161.398 m, or 85-86 px, which is Consistent with image if you assume it doesn't go very far into the rock face. ***Or, correcting for Kilrathi conversion, needed main bay length is 187.839 m, or 99-100 px. Still consistent with the picture. Could say 80 dk (192 m) *True Main Docking Bay is 80 dk x 48 dk x 36 dk; true main landing bay is 56 dk x (181.69 dk) x 28 dk. The Main Docking Bay would be used by ships with larger draughts. *2,425,600 m^3 cargo. 115.2 m^3 across beam => 21055.55 m^2 LxD. If concourse is 144 dk long (345.6 m), draught is 60.92 m / 25.38 dk. Say 26 dk (62.4 m). **Real cargo dimensions are 2,484,338.688 m^3, or 179,712 dk^3. 144 dk x 48 dk x 26 dk (1 dk^3 = 13.824 m^3) **That leaves 127.858 meters for the concourse draught (53.27 dk). Could say 52 (124.8 m), except I've already established the concourse at 40 dk. Leaves 12 unaccounted for - I'm willing call those "conveyor and service levels". Ore processor / Power Plant dimensions are 50 px height, 59 px length, 66 px height ("sail", 90 degree triangle) along the LD Aspect => 94.38 height, 111.37 long, 124.59 sail height => 39.325 dk x 46.404 dk x 51.9125 dk. Say 40 dk tall, 48 dk long, 52 dk sail height. Total volume of the sail is 59,904 dk^3, area is 1,248 dk^2. Volume of the lower section is 92,160 dk^3, area is 1,920 dk^2. Probably could go with the same hexagonal chamber design for both the ore processor and power plant as was used on ''Ni'Rakh. Question becomes which one goes on top. The sail can be entirely cooling equipment; between the refinery and power plant, they'll both need it; that part of the station could get quite toasty. 1.887671 Epilogue We'll meet Najekh here. He's not exactly normal. I might get a few more ideas as time passes. B'de inspects the self-destruct system and finds a crucial component has been installed incorrectly. He could fix it, but since the self-destruct order is in the computer...and everybody realizes it's safe to come aboard. (he could disarm the destruct packages but there'd be a risk of setting one off). Notes At campaign onset, Demon's Eye is run by Morgan's Raiders, a minor pirate clan. This base will eventually house the Demon's Eye Pack; taking over the base is an early campaign mission. The player group will have the option of what to do with the Terran population and the commodities in the exchange when they take over the base. Notion is there to let the players "upgrade" their base up until towards the end, when the Confederation Marines come in and kill almost everybody. The group will initially consist of Bloodeye, Gux'a P'nt, Thrakyaga, Knav'qith, Ku'a K'le, K'chodyapaki, B'de and Nagkilin. Le'a'he comes along with K'chodyapaki and forms a ninth member of the party, remembering Bloodeye from his own days at B'shriss. Irgu is working on ''Ni'rakh when the group comes to steal the ship and will join up to save his own skin. Dya'a'ji also shows up during the theft; he overhears the group's plans for the theft and has snuck aboard to assist, joining the group with an offer of rations. Mo, Qith'rakoth and Qith'raklerx are all friends or relations to people in the main group, who join up as the ship is heading out. Naj'bakdor intercepts Ni'rakh but decides he's had enough of T'Kon H'hra and signs on. Najekh will be encountered as a prisoner of the Morgans when the group arrives to take over the Demon's Eye base; having been betrayed by ko Thrakhaxal, he will join up then to plot revenge.'' Najekh is first encountered when the group first goes to Demon's Eye. He was one of ''ko Thrakhaxal's lieutenants who made a grab for power and was set up to head out that way. He's probably partially responsible for the reputation of the Crimson Claws; his enemies could be CEOs, administrators, military personnel, you name it. He could easily create tension for the entire group with his violent tendencies, ones that Dya'a'ji and Nagkilin become adept at harnessing.'' ---- :ITALICS is information designed for the players, which the GM can read aloud or paraphrase as appropriate. :UNDERLINE text contains information specifically meant for the GM; this information in general should remain confidential unless and until it becomes relevant to the players. :PLAIN TEXT acts as a guide for the GM so that they may know what is intended to happen with each of the various encounters. *B: Bloodeye - Bloodeye is the leader and planner. *GP: Gux'a P'nt/XO - Gux'a P'nt (Arrah Sutaghi) has legitimate access to the ship, and also has access to the command codes. *T: Thrakyaga/Quartermaster - Thrakyaga (Uzik Qarg) is there for muscle. *KN: Knav'qith/Ship's Pilot - Knav'qith (Knav'qith dai Knavska, knows about Yuharga ko Da'a Vimaksrani), the "catborg" is a skilled fighter and capital ship pilot. He's never tried to fly anything as big as a cruiser before, however... *KK: Ku'a K'le/Negotiator - Ku'a K'le (Kor laq Stra'a) is there at Gux'a P'nt's invitation; he's a skilled stalker, which is of precious little use on a capital ship. Gux'a P'nt was actually more interested in having Mo (Sa'ki lak B'yaga) - Kor's wife and a skilled healer - on the crew. *KC: K'chodyapaki/Navigator - K'chodyapaki ("Kal" Dakut'he Ki'ra) is another cat with capital ship piloting experience, though he wasn't cut out for front-line duty; he has, however, been assigned to transport ships and is skilled at navigating craft as large as a cruiser. *BD: B'de/Engineer - B'de (Oth nar Qith'rakar, friends with Knav'qith) is a very talented mechanic, having served on ships of the Hakaga-class during his career. *N: Nagkilin/Pirate - Nagkilin (Eldorin Kur'u'tak) is the resident expert, a Cat who has been a pirate his entire life and knows what's involved in capturing a capital ship. *L: Le'a'he/Warrior Bard - Le'a'he (Hakiratakav Dairasakdu, friends with Dakut'he Ki'ra) is K'chodyapaki's friend and an experienced fighter. *I: Irgu/Machinist (Yuharga ko Da'a Vimaksrani) - on board Ni'rakh when the group arrives to steal the ship, joins up to save his skin (he's being hunted) but quickly proves his worth. Ultimately becomes group's chief tech. Libertine. *J: Najekh/Scout (Oth ko Sal) - captive aboard Demon's Eye base, plots revenge against ko Thrakhaxal for it. Violent. *D: Dya'a'ji/Infiltrator (Gartha'in Sihkag) - shows up to help the group dispatch a group of Terrans guards while they're trying to steal the ship, asks to join the group with an offer of food. A ninja. *M: Mo/Doctor (Sa'ki lak B'yaga) - Ku'a K'le's lair-mate, aboard shuttle, asked to join group, agrees on condition that Bloodeye train her son, become's group's medic. Scathing. *QO: Qith'rakoth/Scholar (Garmasdrish lak B'yaga) - Ku'a K'le's son, aboard shuttle, begins training with Bloodeye. *NB: Naj'bakdor/Pilot (Sivar'havuz Ki'ra) - joins group rather than shoots them down. A joker. *QL: Qith'raklerx/Priest (Mer B'a jaq Shintahr) - aboard shuttle, friend of Thrakyaga, a priestess of Sivar ultimately convinces Bloodeye to try to build a new society for Kilrathi people. Delusional. *BH: B'Harg/Red Shirt (Yurakh'hra Sa'guk) - generic character there for extra muscle. Disposable. Varying personality as situation requires. *B: Bloodeye - Bloodeye is the leader and planner. *GP: Gux'a P'nt/XO (Arrah Sutaghi) - is elected ship's captain and group's exec. *T: Thrakyaga/Quartermaster (Uzik Qarg) - Thrakyaga is there for muscle. *KN: Knav'qith/Ship's Pilot (Knav'qith dai Knavska), the "catborg" is a skilled fighter and capital ship pilot. Acting FNO. *KK: Ku'a K'le/Negotiator (Kor laq Stra'a) - there at Gux'a P'nt's invitation; he's a skilled stalker, which is of precious little use on a capital ship. Acting CSciO. Negotiator, and highest-ranked socially of any Kilrathi in the group. *KC: K'chodyapaki/Navigator ("Kal" Dakut'he Ki'ra) - a humble Cat wanting to get his kids back. Acting CNO. *BD: B'de/Engineer (Oth nar Qith'rakar) - a very talented mechanic, having served on ships of the Hakaga-class during his career. Acting CEO. *N: Nagkilin/Pirate (Eldorin Kur'u'tak) - the resident expert, a Cat who has been a pirate his entire life. *L: Le'a'he/Warrior Bard (Hakiratakav Dairasakdu) - an experienced fighter, secretly an utak. Acting CCO. *I: Irgu/Machinist (Yuharga ko Da'a Vimaksrani) - on board Ni'rakh when the group arrives to steal the ship, joins up to save his skin (he's being hunted) but quickly proves his worth. Ultimately becomes group's chief tech. Libertine. *D: Dya'a'ji/Infiltrator (Gartha'in Sihkag) - shows up to help the group dispatch a group of Terrans guards while they're trying to steal the ship, asks to join the group with an offer of food. A ninja. *M: Mo/Doctor (Sa'ki lak B'yaga) - Ku'a K'le's lair-mate, aboard shuttle, asked to join group, agrees on condition that Bloodeye train her son, become's group's CMO. Scathing. *QO: Qith'rakoth/Scholar (Garmasdrish lak B'yaga) - Ku'a K'le's son, aboard shuttle, begins training with Bloodeye. *QL: Qith'raklerx/Priest (Mer B'a jaq Shintahr) - aboard shuttle, friend of Thrakyaga, a priestess of Sivar ultimately convinces Bloodeye to try to build a new society for Kilrathi people. Delusional. *''J: Najekh/Scout (Oth ko Sal) - captive aboard Demon's Eye base, plots revenge against ko Thrakhaxal for it. Violent. Not with the group yet.'' *''BH: B'Harg/Red Shirt (Yurakh'hra Sa'guk) - generic character there for extra muscle. Disposable. Varying personality as situation requires. Not with the group yet.'' ---- [[Elegy_2.4:_Hukutav%27di%27ajji_Ar|NEXT: 2.4 Hukutav'di'ajji Ar]] [[Elegy_2.2:_Dekh_aq_T%27kon_H%27hra|PREVIOUS: 2.2 Dekh aq T'Kon H'hra]] TOP ---- Category:Elegy Category:WCRPG Missions and Campaigns Category:Part 1: Elegy Campaign